Why Greg Norman showed up at the Masters a year after he wasn’t invited

Greg Norman was seen at the Masters on Wednesday.    During his peak competitive years, Norman hunted his golfing competitors aggressively, earning the nickname Great White Shark. This was not considered exceptional at that time.   However, in 2024, this fact has become newsworthy. 

The reason for this is Norman’s involvement in a controversial revolution that has disrupted professional golf and left its authorities indecisive about their stance towards LIV Golf, the Saudi-funded league that Norman is now a part of.   

Prior to last year’s Masters, Augusta National openly showed its reluctance to invite Norman to the tournament, as club chairman Fred Ridley stated that he wanted the spotlight to be on the Masters competition and the talented players involved.   

The club did not change its stance regarding Norman before this year’s Masters, but Norman managed to gain entry.   Norman bought his own tickets and went to the Wednesday practice round with two of his colleagues from LIV. 

In an interview with the Post, Norman said: “I’m here because we have 13 players that won 10 Masters between them. So I’m here just to support them, do the best I can to show them, ‘Hey, you know, the boss is here rooting for you.’ ”

GOLF.com’s efforts to locate Norman on Wednesday afternoon were fruitless, but a couple of patrons near the clubhouse said they had seen him pacing the course in “a white cowboy hat.”

It actually was a straw hat, the kind that Norman has worn throughout his career. But point was, if you saw Norman, he cut a striking figure against Augusta’s emerald fairways, in black pants, a white long sleeve shirt with a LIV logo on the chest and a hat brandished with his Shark stamp. It’s unclear which players Norman followed but Getty Images published a photo of him shaking hands with Min Woo Lee, a 25-year-old Australian who is playing in his first Masters this week (with a broken finger, no less).

Norman competed in 23 iterations of the Masters, coming in second place three times, with one of the most memorable instances being in 1996 when he lost the lead to Nick Faldo on a Sunday. Prior to this year, Norman had not been to a Masters tournament since 2021, when he provided commentary for SiriusXM radio.   

Since the 2023 Masters, there has been a significant reduction in tension between the LIV and PGA Tour, as both parties are now actively working towards an agreement that will address various issues faced by the tours and potentially increase opportunities for top players to compete against each other more frequently than the current four times a year.  

The negotiations on behalf of LIV have been led by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, the financial backers of the tour.  

When asked about the progress of the peace talks by the Post, Norman was evasive.    “LIV operates independently, to be frank,” he stated.  

“I am not included in any discussions, which I appreciate because our main focus is on delivering what we have committed to the world.”